thirtyone for suzy

Suzy's birthday was a Northern California adventure. We started our way Hwy 1 to Hog Island Oyster Company. Then to Osmosis. Then to Harbin Springs. The moon was almost full, the lunar eclipse was around the corner and Mars is in retrograde!

turning two

My darling Kaia is now two.

hearts in copenhagen

I just got back from a crazy work trip from Copenhagen. I had long desired to visit there so I was excited to finally get the chance.

I stayed at the lovely Nynne and Joachim's place. The building was built in the 1900's with masonic symbols all inside. It was a pretty cool apartment. There was a park in the back and bikes everywhere.






On the way to work, I saw swans! It's been 10 years since I've seen one and that was in Munich.


My favorite part of town was Christinia. My buddy Joe took me around the lake to check out all the cool little houses. It was a very beautiful snowy night.






One of the best things about Christinia was the sauna. Joachim talked about this sauna since I met him, so I was pretty hyped up to go. People were smoking, kids were running around, everyone was naked, together just chilling. How perfect for me!

I found it very charming that the food you get to go gets plastic sealed.


I was also treated by Joachim to simple but yummy breakfasts. I have never eaten eggs or avocados like this before.



One night I came home late from work to find Nynne making fresh bread.



Everyone had been talking about glogg for months before I got there and Joe finally found a bar that served it. It's a nice warm red wine with raisins and almonds. They also serve it with gingersnaps.


The last night was particularly magical. Joachim and I went to a Twin Peaks party. I was ill prepared, but had a dress I could "sorta" be Audrey Horne in and I added a little mole near my eye. Joachim was the midget. Can you tell?


I am so happy I got to go and hang out with my new friends from Unity. It was a crazy roller coaster of a ride being in Copenhagen with a hundred little stories on the way to the Sunday I left. But I will keep those in my heart. I hope to be there again soon.

chick and bug

This is Kaia and Ripley's 2nd Halloween together. They did a weird role reversal. If you recall, last year Kaia was a barnyard animal and Ripley was an insect (cow and bee). This year Kaia was a ladybug and Ripley was a chicken!

austin food trucks

Even though I had to go to Austin for work, I had fun with my old friends Mike, Jung, and Marc. I stayed at the San Jose, per usual. Mike introduced me to my new favorite beer that we were calling FrankSkanks.
A lot of food trucks have popped up since last I came here. Austin is becoming more and more quirky and I love that!

milan

I don't have photos of Milan, because our battery ran out at that point. I will say, Milan was my favorite city in Italy. The people, food, and fashions were all up my alley. My favorite place was Bianco Latte. The BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD for gelato. If in Italy, please trek up to Milan and have lunch there. WORTH IT!

cinqe terre

It was pretty, but I felt it was too touristy to the point that the locals weren't cool about it. But it was nice spending one more day with Dan, Andee, Joe, and Doug. If I ever go back, I am going to do the cliff diving. We got there too late to jump.

bocine

In the little Tuscano town of Bocine, we had amazing porchetta at the farmer's market.


We had our last dinner there with Jersey's best buds Marc, Mik, and Shawn at a quaint little place that served home cooked food from the owner's mother.

dandee

Andee and Dan's wedding was really magical. I got tons of photos, but some are too funny to post! We had an amazing time with the Jersey and Philly crew, made new friends, and got crazy. I MEAN CRAZY. Here's a video of how crazy it was getting.

lupinari

I don't have much to say about Rome. Old stuff, bad graffitti other than the three Space Invaders we saw, and a sprain ankle. We ate well and partied into the night.
We rented a car and got ass-rammed, as I like to put it all the way to Tuscany. I actually quite enjoyed the way Italians drive. Go fast or get out of the way! Andee and Dan's wedding was at the Pellegrino's estate called Tenuta di Lupinari. I'd recommend for you to stay there if you need a romantic vacation. The food and people were fab! They have vineyards and olive groves on the estate.